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A splatter film is a subgenre of horror film that deliberately focuses on graphic portrayals of and graphic violence. These films, usually through the use of , display a fascination with the vulnerability of the human body and the theatricality of its mutilation. The term "splatter cinema" was coined by George A. Romero to describe his film Dawn of the Dead, though Dawn of the Dead is generally considered by critics as possessing higher aspiration (such as social commentary) rather than simply being exploitative for its own sake.
The term was popularized by John McCarty's 1981 book Splatter Movies, subtitled: Breaking The Last Taboo: A Critical Survey of the Wildly Demented Sub Genre of the Horror Film that Is Changing the Face of Film Realism Forever. The first significant publication to attempt to define and analyse the 'splatter film', McCarty suggests that splatter is indicative of broader trends in film production. Though splatter is associated with fairly extreme horror films, and such works form the main focus of the book, a relatively diverse range of titles dating mainly from the 1960s to late 1970s are also included; examples include John Waters' Female Trouble, Ted Post's Magnum Force, Terry Gilliam's Jabberwocky, and Walter Hill's Western The Long Riders. This filmography implies that the influence of film-makers such as Sam Peckinpah or Andy Warhol, to name two, is as significant to the development of the form as Grand Guignol, Hammer Films or Herschell Gordon Lewis.
During the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the use of graphic violence in cinema has been labeled " torture porn" or " gorno" (a portmanteau of "gore" and "porno"). By contrast, films such as Braindead, Evil Dead II, Idle Hands, and to some extent Dawn of the Dead, all of which feature over-the-top gore, can be construed as Slapstick comedy, and fall into the category of splatstick.
The first appearance of the realistic mutilation of the human in cinema can be traced to D. W. Griffith's Intolerance (1916), which features numerous Guignol-esque touches, including two onscreen decapitations, and a scene in which a spear is slowly driven through a soldier's naked abdomen as blood wells from the wound. Several of Griffith's subsequent films, and those of his contemporary Cecil B. DeMille, featured similarly realistic carnage.
Splatter came into its own as a distinct subgenre of horror in the early 1960s with the films of Herschell Gordon Lewis in the United States. Eager to maintain a profitable niche, Lewis turned to something that mainstream cinema still rarely featured: scenes of visceral, explicit gore. In 1963, he directed Blood Feast, widely considered the first splatter film. In the 15 years following its release, Blood Feast took in an estimated $7 million. It was made for an estimated $24,500. Blood Feast was followed by two more gore films by Herschell Gordon Lewis, Two Thousand Maniacs! (1964) and Color Me Blood Red (1965).
The popularity of the splatter film in the 1970s was met with strong reactions in the US and the U.K. Roger Ebert in the U.S., and Graham Bright in the U.K., led the charge to censor splatter films on home video with the film critic going after I Spit on Your Grave while the politician sponsored the Video Recordings Act, a system of censorship and certification for home video in the U.K., p.276 The latter resulted in the outright banning of many splatter films in the U.K., which were deemed "video nasty" in the British press.
Some splatter directors have gone on to produce mainstream hits. Peter Jackson started his career in New Zealand by directing the splatter movies Bad Taste (1987) and Braindead (1992). These films featured such over-the-top gore that it became a comedic device. These comedic gore films have been dubbed "splatstick", defined as physical comedy that involves dismemberment. Splatstick seems to be more common in Japan, with the examples of Robogeisha, Tokyo Gore Police, and The Machine Girl.
Splatter films have pioneered techniques used in other genres. For example, the popular 1999 film The Blair Witch Project is similar to the 1980 film Cannibal Holocaust.Deodato, Ruggero. Interview with Sage Stallone; Bob Murawski. "Cult-Con 2000", Cannibal Holocaust DVD commentary, Tarrytown, New York. 12 November 2000. The story in Cannibal Holocaust is told through footage from a group of people making a documentary about a portion of the Amazon which is said to be populated by cannibals. Although the Blair Witch directors had not seen Cannibal Holocaust at the time of filming, this "mockumentary" format was later used in their film.
One of the more recent examples of a splatter film is Terrifier (2016), and its sequels Terrifier 2 (2022) and Terrifier 3 (2024). All three films are infamous for their gore, two main examples being Dawn's hacksaw kill in Terrifier, where Art the Clown saws Dawn in half, and Allie's bedroom kill in Terrifier 2, where Art theatrically mutilates Allie to death. Terrifier 2 was said to be so gory and so violent that audience members have reported to be vomiting and fainting.
Filmmaker Eli Roth's Hostel (2005), released in January 2006, was the first to be called torture porn by critic Edelstein, but the classification has since been applied to Saw and its sequels (though its creators disagree with the classification),Warner, Kara. " Saw IV Press Conference ". UGO.com. The Devil's Rejects (2005), Wolf Creek (2005), and the earlier films Baise-moi (2000) and Ichi the Killer (2001).Skenazy, Lenore (May 28, 2007). "It's Torture! It's Porn! What's Not to Like? Plenty, Actually". Advertising Age.May 3, 2007. " Is there a link between 'torture porn' and real sexual violence? ". The Guardian. Retrieved on June 11, 2007. A difference between this group of films and earlier splatter films is that they are often mainstream Hollywood films that receive a wide release, and have comparatively high production values.
The torture porn subgenre has proven to be very profitable: Saw, made for $1.2 million, grossed over $100 million worldwide, while Hostel, which cost less than $5 million to produce, grossed over $80 million.Murray, Steve (June 7, 2007). " 'Horror porn' a bloody success ". Associated Press. Retrieved on June 11, 2007. Lionsgate, the studio behind the films, made considerable gains in its stock price from the box office showing.La Monica, Paul R. (June 8, 2007). " 'Torture porn' helps Lionsgate roar ". Retrieved on June 14, 2007. The financial success led the way for the release of similar films: Turistas in 2006, , Borderland, and Captivity, starring Elisha Cuthbert and Daniel Gillies, in 2007.Kinsella, Warren (June 7, 2007). " Torture porn's dark waters ". National Post. Retrieved on June 11, 2007. Indeed, in 2009 the Saw series became the most profitable horror film series of all time,Lariam Peter (October 24, 2008) " 'Saw' May Become Best Horror Franchise Ever ". New York Post. Retrieved on June 4, 2009. prompting the release of The Collector starring Josh Stewart and Juan Fernández within that year. Despite these financial successes, torture porn is perceived as a pejorative label by many press critics, filmmakers, and fans. "Torture porn's" pejorative connotations were anchored by high-profile salacious advertising campaigns. Billboards and posters used in the marketing of Hostel: Part II The Problem with Torture Porn and Captivity drew criticism for their graphic imagery, causing them to be taken down in many locations.May 1, 2007. " For your entertainment". The Guardian. Retrieved on June 11, 2007. Director Eli Roth sought to defend the subgenre, claiming that critics' uses of torture porn "genuinely says more about the critic's limited understanding of what horror movies can do than about the film itself",June 3, 2007. " Capone and Eli Roth discuss horror movies, gore, Stephen King, the phrase "Torture Porn" and much more!!! ". Ain't It Cool News. Retrieved on June 11, 2007. and that "they're out of touch."Horowitz, Josh (March 28, 2007) " 'Hostel' Helmer Eli Roth Says Horror Should Have No Limits: 'It's All Fake' ". MTV. Retrieved on June 11, 2007. Horror author Stephen King defended Hostel: Part II and torture porn stating, "sure it makes you uncomfortable, but good art should make you uncomfortable."Olsen, Marc. " Stephen King on the artistic merits of torture porn ". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on July 14, 2007. Influential director George A. Romero stated, "I don't get the torture porn films ... they're lacking metaphor."Onstad, Katrina (February 10, 2008). " Horror Auteur Is Unfinished With the Undead ". The New York Times. Retrieved on February 15, 2008.
The success of torture porn, and its boom during the mid to late 2000s, led to a crossover into genres other than horror. This became evident with the release of many crime thrillers, particularly the 2007 film I Know Who Killed Me starring Lindsay Lohan, and the 2008 film Untraceable, starring Diane Lane and Billy Burke.Corliss, Richard (January 25, 2008). " Hiding from Untraceable ". Time. Retrieved on February 15, 2008. The British film WΔZ, starring Stellan Skarsgård and Selma Blair,Evans, Mark (August 30, 2008). " Crime W Delta Z / The Killing Gene". Evening Herald. Retrieved on September 12, 2008. and its US counterpart Scar, starring Angela Bettis and Ben Cotton, continued to facilitate this hybrid form of torture porn, which was also, to a lesser degree, evident in films such as Rendition (2007) starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Law Abiding Citizen (2009), and Unthinkable (2010) starring Samuel L. Jackson.French, Philip. " Scar 3D Cert 18" (review), The Observer, 9 November 2008. Retrieved 22 November 2008
In the mid-2000s, the splatter film was given a major boost within the horror industry by a new wave of France films—commonly referred to as the New French Extremity—which became internationally known for their extremely brutal nature: Martyrs (2008), directed by Pascal Laugier,Pasche, Alexandre (30 August 2008). " Martyrs : quelles limites pour le torture porn à la française ? ". Rue 89. Retrieved on September 12, 2008. Frontier(s) (2007), directed by Xavier Gens,Gonzalez, Ed (May 8, 2008). " Frontier(s) ". Slant Magazine. Retrieved on April 21, 2010. and Inside (2007), directed by Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury.Ogden, Brianne (February 18, 2008). " Torture porn says something about society ". The Roanoke Times. Retrieved on February 18, 2008. Rapper Eminem explored the genre in his music video for the single "3 a.m." that year.Graham, Mark (April 30, 2009). " Eminem Resurrects Torture Porn for '3 A.M.' Video ". New York Magazine. Retrieved on June 4, 2009. Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier's Antichrist, starring Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg, was labeled torture porn by critics when it premiered at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival due to scenes of extreme violence, graphic sex, and genital self-mutilation.Singh, Anita (May 18, 2009). " Cannes Film Festival 2009 : Lars Von Trier's 'torture porn' film Antichrist shocks ". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved on June 4, 2009.Ordoña, Michael (August 1, 2009). " The Collector ". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on August 1, 2009.
By 2009, the box office draw of torture porn films had mostly been replaced in the U.S. by the profitable trend of remaking or rebooting earlier horror films from decades past, with the modernization of films such as Dawn of the Dead (2004), The Amityville Horror (2005), House of Wax (2005), Black Christmas (2006), Halloween (2007), My Bloody Valentine 3D (2009), Friday the 13th (2009), The Wolfman (2010), The Crazies (2010), and A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010).Bowles, Scott (February 13, 2009), " Classic horror films come back to life, profitably ". USA Today. Retrieved on June 4, 2009. A number of these remakes, such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003), The Hills Have Eyes (2006) (and its sequel in 2007), Funny Games (2008), The Last House on the Left (2009), and I Spit on Your Grave (2010) were referred to as torture porn in press reviews.Fletcher, Phoebe (2009) 'Apocalyptic Machines: Terror and Anti-Production in the Post-9/11 Splatter Film', in Leanne Franklin and Ravenel Richardson (eds) The Many Forms of Fear, Horror and Terror (Oxford: Inter-Disciplinary Press).Schneller, Johanna (2008) 'The Torture Merchants' Not-so-Funny Game', The Globe and Mail, March 22.Hulse, Ed (2007) 'Directing New Brands of Horror', Video Business, March 12.Puig, Claudia (2009) '"Last House" is Condemnable', USA Today, March 13.Phelan, Laurence 'New Films', The Independent, January 22.
At the close of the decade, The Human Centipede (First Sequence) (2009) and A Serbian Film (2010) were among the most notable torture porn releases. Although not as financially successful as Saw or Hostel, Retrieved on September 28, 2013. A Serbian Film and The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence) (2011) gained attention in the press for their graphic depictions of forced Coprophagia and necrophilia,Sobolewski, Helene (2011) "Depraved Horror Movie Banned" The Advertiser (Australia) December 2.Kermode, Mark (2010) "A Confederacy Of Dunces: Jonah Hex's Mix Of The Civil War And Comic Book Is Plain Confusing", The Observer (England), December 26. and both films were censored in order to attain release in the U.K.. Retrieved on September 28, 2013.. Retrieved on September 28, 2013. Other torture porn films such as Murder-Set-Pieces, Grotesque and The Bunny Game were banned outright by the BBFC.. Retrieved on September 28, 2013. Retrieved on September 28, 2013.
Subsequently, torture porn has increasingly become a DVD-oriented subgenre. For example, (2011) was released direct to DVD, unlike the previous films in the series. The film received less negative attention in the press as a result of its lower-profile release. Other recent torture porn films include Would You Rather (2012), The Collection (2012), Truth or Dare (2013), Who's Watching Oliver (2018), Don't Click (2020), Hacksaw (2020), and The Host (2020). As fewer and fewer high-profile cinematic torture porn films are being released, however, the subgenre is slowly dying out, as many journalists have proposed.Barnes, Brookes (2009) 'Audiences Laughed to Forget Troubles', The New York Times, December 30.
The genre elements were also used in episodes of many popular American television shows, including Fox's 24, CBS's Criminal Minds, Showtime's Dexter, The CW's Supernatural, NBC's Blindspot and FX's American Horror Story.
Some scholars have published analyses of torture porn films. For example, a book chronicling the torture porn phenomenon and the surrounding controversy—Steve Jones' Torture Porn: Popular Horror after Saw—was published in 2013.
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